A teacher only needs to be a couple steps ahead of the student. It isn’t about being the best ever. I teach songwriting on my own and for Berklee. I haven’t had a hit record, but people improve working with me. It isn’t about the teacher, it is about the value students get. I have learned so many production tips from you Austin. You are a true teacher.
There are 2 things about teaching music that is hard or interesting. The technical side of the process and then the more creative subjective part. I think teaching or inspiring in both ways are extremely important and fundamental for others to learn and expand their knowledge in this field! Good podcast thank you!
Hey! Thanks a lot for all the work that you do to share your skills and maintain this community. I think it's super valuable to have access to the accumulated knowledge and opinions the community has. I wanted to chip in on two things. Firstly, I think the statement is wrong because it assumes that everyone's reason for doing something is to monetize it and that if you don't have a career in it, you're not doing it. I for example love woodworking and I really hope to get to a level where I can build furniture that are constructed at a level which could be considered professional, but I don't want that to be my job. A lot of people who teach spend the rest of their time doing what they're teaching and are very happy with their life. The statement is also wrong in its essence as teaching IS doing. You talked about this, but teaching is a skill in itself. I'm not very good at it. I'm a pretty good mixer, but I can really struggle to explain why I do certain things because it seems obvious to me which it of course wasn't at some point in my life, but I learned it from someone who has the skill to transfer knowledge efficiently. This brings me onto my 2nd thing, which was the part that you said there are things you can't teach someone and either you have it or you don't. I don't necessarily agree with that. I think there might be things that you can't teach as in saying "this is how you need to do X", but I believe we can learn most things even if we don't have it. The best way to learn, at least for me, is to just keep doing. I think I learned most of my mixing, producing, writing and singing techniques from sheer experience - both just repetition of skills you have and also challenges where you're trying to do something you don't know how to achieve. Again, great job!
100%. Your second point is actually exactly my thought. Everything can be LEARNED. Not everything can be taught. Some things need to be experienced and tried. That’s my point. I can’t TEACH you what a good song is, you can learn what it is and how to implement because it’s superrr subjective. The only way to learn that is by doing, not watching a 10 minute video.
@@TheSoundTable For sure! I have often found that I fall into the trap of watching more how-to-videos than I actually do things. Have you read "The Practice" by Seth Godin? It's about the importance of repetition and having a practice to take your craft to the next level. I really enjoyed it.
Love your content! What a great discussion. I don’t believe in “those who can’t do music 100% full-time teach”. Isn’t that very old fashion thinking? Reality is that you who teach music need to have a skill level that has a wider perspective and knowledge than your audience/ students and still daily work on your instrument/ skill as if you are touring live/ dropping albums regularly to be a music teacher/ instructor. And yes not everyone who is skillful is great at teaching 😂 With your music skills and the pro level you’re at it’s a gift to us who work on our craft to see how you break down songs, mixing techniques and even showing us the DAW’s existing plugins.
Personally, I disagree with the statement. I’m grateful for people such as yourself who take time out from their paying work to put out content. That’s the great thing about knowledge - you can give it away and still have it.
